Improved brick-drying press



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. T. SHRYOCK.

' Q Brick Drying Press. No. 55,376. Patented June 5, 1866.

- 2 Sheets-Shet 2. J. T. SHRYOGK. I

Brick Drying Press. No. 55,376. Patented June 5. 1866.

IWUenfa- UNTTED STATES PATENT QFFME.

JOHN T. SHRYOOK, OF ZANESVILLE, OHIO.

IMPROVED BRICK-DRYING PR ESS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 55,376, dated J une 5, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l', J OHN T. SHRYooK, of Zanesville, in the county of Muskingum and State of Ohio, have invented a new and Improved Brick-Drying Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the nature, construe; tion, and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are made part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a plan (partly in section) of a brick-drying apparatus, illustrating my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical section in the plane indicated by the blue line :20 cc, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan of two of the trays, placed one upon the other, upon which the bricks are carried by the car through the drying-kiln. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section on the line 1 y of the parts shown in Fig. 3. 7

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

The ordinary process of drying'bricks preparatory to burning involves a great amount of labor and the suspension of work for about twothirds of the year, as not more than four months inthe year can practically be devoted to the business on account of the weather. The most common method of drying bricks is to let them stand in the sun or to subject them to the action of heat from furnaces or arches underneath a drying-floor, in which latter case much fuel is needed and the same amount of handling is required'as when drying in the sun.

In addition to this the demand for a prompt supply of bricks for the spring trade renders a a process for drying bricks ready for burning by artificial heat almost indispensable.

To meet the wants above named is the object of my invention, which consists of a kiln provided with a fire-place and heating-flue, a track on. which to run cars carrying the brick-bearing trays, and a flue or stack to carry off the results of evaporation and escaping heatingair.

The following detailed description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, will enable others skilled in the-art to which my invention appertains to fully understand and use the same.

I shall specify dimensions, numbers, &c., as it is believed to facilitate a practical or tech- :nical understanding of the invention.

I divide the drying-kiln in sections or compartments A A, for the sake of economy in fuel and construction. Two of these sections are represented, but in practice it is proposed to have three, to enable a very large amount of bricks to be treated at once. They may be of any suitable length, but from fifty to one hundred feet will be found most serviceable. The walls are of brick, with a plastered ceiling, and close enough to exclude air. Running longitudinally through each section or com-' partment A is a track or rail, B B, on which the car 0 is mounted. A fireplace, D, is constructed at the side of the kiln, and beneath each section extends a heating-flue, E. The heat passes up through the opening E of the flues, between the rails, and back under the cars, circulating between the bricks upon the latter. By adjusting the dampers E of the flues of the respective sections of the kiln the heat may be regulated in the sections to suit the special requirement of each.

At the end of each section opposite that at which the heating-fines are located is erected a stack, F, which is sufficiently large and high to conduct off the volatile products from the drying process and to create such a draft as will draw the heated air through the kiln among the bricks. This end of the kiln is also to be provided with dampers, to prevent the too rapid escape of heat.

Four wheels, 0, the rectangular open frame 0, and the iron axles (J constitute a car. The iron frame is adapted to receive and support the feet 9 of four trays, Gr, said frame 0 having its hearings on the axle, so as to support the first tier of the series at as low a point as possible, which may be effected by making the axles crank shaped at the ends. Each tray Gris adapted to contain, say, sixteen bricks, which are set upon their edges, as represented. On the lower tier of trays G are placed four more, constituting a second tier, and they are thus placed in tiers one above another till the car has a load of eight or nine layers. The feet of the trays of the second tier, and in like manner those of the remaining upper tiers, may be fitted. with and held in place by the tops of the feet beneath, as seen in Fig. 2. About five and a half inches of perpendicular measurement will be sufficient for each layer of trays. One section, A, of a kiln seventy feet long will receive twenty cars, bearing, say, thirteen thousand two hundred and eighty bricks. The bricks are placed upon the trays with their length in line or parallel with the track, as seen in Fig. 1, so that any sudden movementin stopping or starting will not cause them to topple over, and so that the largest amount of surface is exposed to the action of the heated air, the current of which passes between the bricks on its way from the dues to the stack. The trays are covered with sand, so as to allow the bricks to contract without cracking or Warping.

The trays may be made entirely of cast-iron or they may have iron feet and braces or supports G attached to theunder side of the board on which the bricks are placed, in order to pre- Vent the board from warping or sagging at either end. A suitable size for the car will be forty-one by fifty inches.

If Wood is used for fuel in drying bricks upon this plan, or if the kiln is used for dryinglumher or other combustible material, a sheetiron flue is attachedto the furnace or fire-place and conducted along the bottom of the kiln to the stack at the opposite end. This may be found a preferable mode of heating when bituminous coal is used but it is believed that the greatest advantage can be derived from coal or coke without using the flue last mentioned.

This drying-kiln may be located between a brick-machine for molding brick and the kiln where the bricks are baked, and the tracks or rails O, on which the cars run, can be extended far enough to convey the bricks from one place of treatment to another.

All the trays are to be made alike and of one size, so as to be adapted to be shifted from car to car and from place to place on each car. The open frame 0 of the car permits the air to pass up from the inner side of the kiln and diffuse itself among the bricks arranged upon the trays.

It is believed that by this process bricks can 7 be dried in such a manner in from twenty-four to forty hours as will fit them to be placed on the kiln to be burned, and if kept in the drying-kiln for a longer time they may become so dry as to greatly facilitate the burning. This plan saves the labor of placing the bricks on a drying-floor, of turning them, backing them, and wheeling them into drying-sheds, and then lifting them and Wheeling them to the kiln to be set and burned. Three men and one boy by this processcau remove the bricks from the off-bearers and toss to the setters in the kiln, where they are burned from twenty-five to thirty thousand daily. Brick-making can also proceed at all seasons of the year and in all weather when the clay can be obtain ed in good condition.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The brick-drying apparatus herein described, consisting of the kiln A, track or rail B B, car C, tray Gr, fire-place D, heating-flue E, and stack F, constructed and employed substantially as and for the objects specified.

2. The brick-bearing cars consisting of the open frame (J, wheels 0, and axles constructed and arranged in the manner and for the purposes set forth.

To the above specification for an improved apparatus for drying bricks I have signed my hand this 9th day of February, 1866.

, JOHN T. SHRYOOK.

Witnesses:

O. D. SMITH, G. A. PETTIT. 

